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Friday 29th August ThisisUll Live Featuring The Last People On Earth, The Bad Apples and Matt Thompson
(2/2)
by Michelle Dee
Bad Apples Photos by Dean Wilkinson, others by Michelle and Cilla |
(1/2),
(2/2).
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For the last band of the evening and the last in this series of live music nights I chose
The Last People on Earth. For some time I'd always been a little lost with the duo synth bass
led stuff of the previous releases.
That's not to say I didn't enjoy past hits like Spacesuit, Robots and Summertime I just never
knew where to place them if I had to categorise the sound I'd find myself pre-occupied looking
for a reference point to work from instead of just listening to the songs.
Since the release of Electric Angels on Teahouse Records I am quite happy in placing them
gloriously in the progressive rock era.
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I received a preview copy of Electric Angels and listened to
it on repeat for the first few weeks, telling everybody I met how incredibly good it was.
I saw the memorable LPOE show down at the Sesh which contributed to their selection for this years
Reading and Leeds Festivals. (
blog.myspace.com/index.cfm
)
The audacious creation opens with apocalyptic Jeff Wayne style tenor.
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A disembodied voice describes a cold digital world bereft of feelings, an
inescapable bleak landscape where technology has sanctity over all.
After the sonorous choral section we regress through time to the sound of a saxophone akin
to the Dick Parry solo from Pink Floyd to a remembrance of a bygone era.
Electric Angels is a concept album, thirty nine minutes in length, set in a
futuristic world. All though the story is clearly set in the future the songs deal with
eternal themes; the loss of humanity and connectivity with the world and each other, the
first flourishes of love, the hopeless longing, I was struck by the way the narrative
could work equally well set in the past, present or future.
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The vocoder on John's Cars suggests a psychedelic Ringo where as the wailing pianos,
flute and ensemble choral sections have more of an early Genesis feel to them.
With each listen you unearth new moments like jewels that attract and beguile more
than the last, such as the story of the policeman and the missing daughter, the
big vocal numbers like Light in her Hair the repeated musical motifs that you welcome
again and again in All things come to an End.
The album is filled with beauty, power and more than a little humour with the occasional retro Casio keyboard sounds,
yet remains unmistakably LPOE.
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Photographs Copyright © 2008 Dean Wilkinson, Michelle and Cilla |
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Music Reviews - Friday 29th February 08 - ThisisUll Live Featuring Spoken Word, The Rocky Nest and Hayokee Words and Pictures by Michelle Dee
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The second thisisUll gig of 08 promised a more organic kind of live music night.
I am informed by the poets that they rarely have a fixed idea as to which pieces they will do in a set.
The choices are made for them by the audience's reaction and response.
Gauging the crowd and then responding there of is an important skill for every performer.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Friday 7th March - Hull Punk Mini-Fest Featuring The Vibrators support from The Cliques Go-Go Kings Mike Watts Words and Pictures by Michelle Dee
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In a back street club in Hull, a dark dingy place that smells of piss and vomit, crazed punk
fans drunk on riot and revolution, hurl themselves this way and that to raw guitar sounds
and anti-establishment rhetoric. If only that were the truth.
The reality however is somewhat different. Two local bands and a spoken word artist support
the now aged punk
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Music Reviews - Saturday 1st March 08 - Edwina Hayes at Driffield Folk Club By Steve Rudd
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It's not every day you get to see a world-class singer-songwriter perform in Driffield.
Similarly, it's rare for the singer-songwriter in question to actually live in town.
But then Edwina Hayes, despite her profile and enviable acquaintances in the music
industry, is thoroughly modest and down-to-earth. She doesn't seem the type of
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Thursday 14th February 08 - Divine Sinn at Winston Churchills, Driffield By Steve Rudd Photos by Matt Rudd
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It's been a long time since Metal fans in Driffield have had a band to call their own.
Too long, in fact. So, thank the devil for new quartet Divine Sinn.
Not to be confused with Swedish rockers Divine Sin, Driffield's
Divine Sinn have been practicing hard for the past seven months
in anticipation of performing live, with this being their first
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Tuesday 29th January 08 - Alison Moyet at York Grand Opera House By Steve Rudd
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Striding on in front of an eye-catching stage backdrop, Alison and her backing band
immediately made themselves temporarily at home on the stage. And even sat up in the
rafters of the fabulously preserved venue as I was, the sight down below was one to behold.
It's not very often that Alison hits the road, making this date in York one to be
savoured all the more.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Friday 25th January 2008 - ThisisUll Live at The New Adelphi, Hull
By Benny Jenner, Life Burns Records Photographs by ChrisW Photography
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Half past eight on a Friday night, I'm stuck in Hull and I'm here at the new Adelphi club,
a place I haven't been to in over eight months. Not due to my own fault I just haven't had
the urge to check out many bands who play there, but tonight is different. I've been asked
by thisisUll.com to come down and review three bands who played tonight.
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Music Reviews - Sunday 16th December 07 - Lucy Kaplansky and Miles Cain at York NCEM By Steve Rudd
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York native Miles Cain opened proceedings with aplomb, drawing the humbly assembled crowd
into his Folk-infused music with affable charm.
His strong, superbly soulful voice perfectly complimented his lush acoustic guitar
melodies, with the fantastic acoustics of the venue - a church, no less -
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Music Reviews - Friday 28th December 07 - The Sorry Loves, Fact is Fiction and Kick Riot at ThisisUll Live at The Adelphi By Michelle Dee
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Every one of you did us proud. We thank you from the bottom of our memory cart.
Fact is Fiction delivered despite their nerves and cowbell issues, they pulled it
off with their forward thinking, sparkly indie sounds.
A new looking band that given time, will become a regular on the local circuit.
Think Pigeon Detectives but from Ull.
So Kick Riot turned
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Thursday 13th December 07 - It's A Happening at The New Adelphi By Martin Wellbourne
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When an event is promoted as a 60s-style melange of music, spoken word, and visuals - a tribute to the
sort of binge that kept hundreds of Deadheads from stinking the Frisco streets out with patchouli oil
and savage body odour for hours at a stretch - the experienced reviewer grits his teeth; it will be,
he knows, a mixed bag.
This sort of thing, back 'in the day'
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Music Reviews - Friday 23rd November 07 - ThisisUll Live at The Adelphi Featuring Awful Scenes The Cliques And The Charge By Michelle Dee
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New Brit rock band The Charge opened the night with self assured style,
amidst much shouting from a whole bunch of unruly fans. It's back to the
mid nineties for these lads so if you are in the mood for a window back
to those mad for it days, and some rowdy optimistic sing along tunes such
as Voodoo and She Goes On then these are the ones for you.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Saturday 15th December ThisisUll.com Christmas Bash At New Adelphi Club With Dirty Dreamers (featuring Dave Meilhan original Dreamers drummer) The Favours, Fifty Nine Violets with special acoustic sounds from Martin Clappison By Michelle Dee
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Hey everybody huge thanks and Merry Christmas to everyone who came to our gig last
night and a bigger one if you happened to buy a teeshirt, CD or car-sticker.
The turnout was good with a healthy mixed crowd of young fans and older heads,
each one getting into the groove in their own way.
Everyone seemed to have a great time.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Wednesday 21st November 07 - Plugged Press Night by Phil James
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Production Values have organised two exciting showcase events in aid of the Viking FM For the Kids
charity. Plugged boasts a diverse range of electric and acoustic acts in an 'East meets West' Yorkshire
celebration of new music and live music talent. At the press event, held at the Riverside Theatre, Hull,
I was welcomed by an enthusiastic ...
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Music Reviews - Wednesday 21st November 07 - Circus Envy and Stickpin at Durty Nelly's By Nicki Stylianou
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Having read Martin Wellbourne's review of
the Circus Envy/Stickpin gig at Durty Nelly's I feel inclined to write one of my own.
Stickpin played well and showed potential with their songs. They played against the England v Croatia background which was on the telly, not easy, but most people paid attention to the band and gave them support.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Wednesday 17th October 07 - TopGun At The Adelphi Club By Michelle Dee
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It was a strange night in Adelphi, when I saw these two crazy ass mofos do their DJ thang, it was another crazy night when I saw TopGun the band. They took to the stage in giant sumo suits and proceeded to play electro fuzz stoner pop. They kicked the proverbial posterior.
The crowd lapped up their hapless madcap routines and shambolic stage show.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Friday 9th November 07 - Mostly Autumn at York Grand Opera House By Steve Rudd
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Back playing in York for what lead guitarist Bryan presumed must have been the first
time in some ten years, the eight-member-strong Prog-Rockers in Mostly Autumn ceremoniously brought the house down.
One of the finest live bands in the land, Mostly Autumn are an incredible band that belts out truly epic songs, incorporating all manner
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Wednesday 21st November 07 - Circus Envy and Stickpin at Durty Nelly's By Martin Wellbourne
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The Band Apart night at Durty Nelly's has - should you not already be aware - been running for some time now,
allowing bands the chance to showcase their talents (where applicable) in a slightly more intimate
setting than the frenetic, scene-driven skinny-jean-maelstrom of such events as The Sesh et al.
Generally well attended, it's a relaxed
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Music Reviews - 26th September ThisisUll Live Presents Kill Surf City, Riley and the Mumps and Michelle Dee At The Adelphi Club By Michelle Dee
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It's Friday night. It's the end of the month and despite GST Cardinals getting discombobulated over which
month they were playing, ThisisUll Live is showcasing two very fine bands and a bit of spoken word, verse and vibe down the
Adelphi.
As is now customary at ThisisUll Live shows I got up on stage to welcome the crowd and introduce the acts.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Monday 24th September 07 - Six Nation State and The Cherry Cobb Cartel At Lamp By Michelle Dee
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It's Tuesday evening and a host of text messages fill my phone begging my presence at
this gig at that gig. My poor tortured synapses threaten to snap. I'm drowning under
a sea of demands when one more text alerts me. This one of the personal nature addressed
to me, and describes the feelings of utter pleasure their band would have on seeing me.
Read more...
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Music Reviews - Wednesday 24th October 07 - Shoot the Moon, The James Dean Syndrome & Santa's Buggerboyz at Lamp By Philip Wincolmlee Barnes
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What's in a name? I do think about names a lot, not so much as a profound
philosophical inquiry, but probably because I simply have too much time on my hands.
So, what's with Shoot the Moon?
I might have been being dense (and it wouldn't be the first time), but it
wasn't a moniker that conjured up a specific sound or musical ethos -
unless it's some sort
Read more...
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